God Plays no Favorites A study of Acts chapter 10, verses 23 through 33 on the Daily Bible refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

Hello good people.

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I'm Dr.

Brad Miller and every day we bring you this reading.

We use a revised Common Lectionary.

We're in year C in the pre Lent season.

We are actually in the day they often call Fat Tuesday the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season.

We give you the Word of God that is understandable by using the New Testament and the Message version.

Relatable by offering you some points to ponder, applicable by giving you a action step to take.

We do all that in under 10 minutes and have a prayer too.

It's all brought to you by our website voiceofgod daily.com which is the home of the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible study method our reading today Acts 10:23 33 reading from the message they said, Captain Cornelius, a God fearing man well known for his fair play, ask any Jew in this part of the country, was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.

Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.

God plays no favorites.

The next morning he got up and went with them.

Some of his friends from Joppa went along.

A day later they entered Caesarea.

Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him.

The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him and then down on his face worshiping him.

Peter pulled him up and said none of that.

I'm a man and only a man, no different than you talking things over.

They went into the house where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come.

Peter addressed him.

You know I'm sure this is highly irregular.

Jews just don't do this visit and relax with people of another race.

But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other.

So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked.

But now I'd like to know why you sent for me.

Cornelius said.

Four days ago at about this time mid afternoon I was home praying.

So suddenly there was a man right in front of me flooding the room with light.

And he said, Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God's attention.

I want you to send you to Joppa to get Simon the one they call Peter.

He's staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.

So I did it.

I sent for you and you've been good enough to come.

And now we're all here in God's presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us.

Wonderful verse of Scripture.

A wonderful passage of scripture here today.

And it's really about breaking barriers and building bridges.

Here's some points to ponder from Acts 10:23 33.

One is the dismantling of systematic prejudice.

Peter's stark admission.

Jews just don't do this.

Visit and relax with you people of another race.

Boy, that's a powerful moment of self awareness about systematic prejudice.

Notice how he doesn't defend or justify these cultural barriers, but acknowledges them as problematic.

This challenges us to examine our own prejudices, which are problematic, which are problematic, and any inherited biases that we may have and any social systems that keep communities separated.

Why we just don't do that kind of phrase.

Can you say in your life persist or persistent communities you're a part of?

Here's another point to ponder.

It's about defying disruption of power dynamics.

There's two powerful moments in this passage which illuminate the theme.

First, when Cornelius, a Roman officer, bows to Peter and Peter immediately stops him, declaring their equal humanity.

Second, when Peter enters Cornelius home, a Jewish religious leader entering the home of a gentile was breaking significant cultural taboos.

This mutual surrender of power and privilege models how authentic spiritual transformation often requires us to step out of our comfort zone and release our grip on our social status.

One more point to ponder, and that's the spirituality of everyday justice.

Notice how Cornelius is described in his daily prayers and neighborly acts.

And that is what brought the divine attention.

This suggests that authentic spirituality isn't just about religious rituals, but how we treat our neighbors and work for justice in our daily lives.

It challenges the false divide between spiritual and social justice work, suggesting they're inseparable.

Here's your actions for step four for the day.

Identify a boundary in your community that separates people along racial, cultural or social themes.

And choose one concrete action or something you can do to cross that boundary.

A few examples here.

Attending a worship service or a community event where you're in the minority, or initiating a conversation with leadership about any exclusive practices in your organization.

Or build a relationship with someone from a community you typically don't interact with.

Remember here about Paul's example to go, no questions asked.

When the opportunity for connection presents itself.

We're going to come back and have a prayer in just a moment.

But I want to just share with you that we have a resource for you that's going to help you read the Bible of your own accord.

It's called the ABC123 Bible Study Guide and really does make reading your own Bible as easy as ABC.

And 1, 2, 3, it's a resource we have for you.

It's free.

All you got to do is go over to our website, which is voiceofgod daily.com and it's there for you.

Let's pray.

Source of God, you are the source of all love.

And we confess that like Peter, we too have our we just don't do this moment.

Our comfortable separations, our unexamined prejudices.

Thank you for holy disruptions that shake us from our comfortable segregation.

Give us courage to cross the boundaries that keep your children apart.

Help us release our grip on privilege, our addiction to power, our fear of difference.

May we recognize you in faces different from our own, in customs foreign to our experience in the holy ground of another's story.

Make us brave enough to go where you call about, no questions asked, and trust that you are already there working for transformation.

Amen.

Well, it's always a joy and a happy time to be with you.

Hey, enjoy.

If this is Fat Tuesday for you, the day before Lent, enjoy it.

It's really a time to kind of feast.

Before we talk tomorrow, we're going to talk a little bit about fasting and prayer.

So until then, I look forward to being with you on Ash Wednesday as we begin the Lenten season and just come back to us every day.

We drop these episodes about 6am Eastern Time.

Come join me and bring a friend.

Until tomorrow.

My name is Dr.

Brad Mueller.

Remember that God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up.

It is created new every morning.